Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many National Highways bridge infill schemes have been carried out by the contractor Hammond (ECS) Ltd.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The contractor Hammond (ECS) Ltd has completed 12 bridge infill schemes on National Highways bridges.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether National Highways have made an assessment of the infilling work at Ridge Road Bridge near Shepton Mallet (reference ESB/10m4ch).
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
National Highways (NH) last intrusive investigation of the infilling work undertaken at the Ridge Road Bridge was the trial hole work adjacent to the South span in May 2023 and the coring of the North and Centre spans in December 2023.
Since this work NH have been engaging with an Active Travel Group about investigating the re-opening of the south span of the bridge.
NH is currently still working through options, safety justifications, and ecological impact. Given the uncertainty over what the next phase of work is, it is not possible to place a timeline on it.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps National Highways has taken to ensure that infilled bridges do not have voids beneath their spans.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
National Highways use assurance and inspection processes to confirm that voids are not present beneath bridge spans. The process is NH check 12 months after completion of the infilling. NH checks that a void has not formed between the infilling and the underside of the bridge by drilling small holes through the deck and inspecting with an endoscope. If there is a void, it is pressure grouted to fill it. The infilled bridge is then visually examined every 12 months, the frequency for all Historical Railways Estate structures examinations.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether Number 4 Shaft at HQU/3D, the Queensbury Tunnel, has been subject to permanent strengthening.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
National Highways undertakes annual examinations of the Queensbury Tunnel and its associated ventilation shafts due to their age and condition. These examinations monitor any changes to the structure and inform ongoing safety assessments. Evidence from these examinations shows that the tunnel lining has already collapsed in two locations between Shafts 3 and 4, and further deterioration of the lining is likely. However, the current assessed risk of Shaft 4 collapsing remains low. Given that the consequences of any failure would be significant, the priority for National Highways is to prevent any decline in the asset’s condition.
The most likely collapse mechanism previously identified related to failure of the tunnel lining close to the base of Shaft 4 which is why National Highways has strengthened the tunnel lining in this area to mitigate the risk. Failure of the shaft cap lining due to age & wet conditions, or failure of the shaft cap are less likely and these are things National Highways checks for in tunnel and shaft examinations.
Shaft 4 itself has not been permanently strengthened. The interventions undertaken to date have focused on reinforcing the tunnel lining at its base. Shaft 4 is located within the town of Queensbury, in a residential area close to an electricity substation and although the risk of shaft 4 collapsing is currently low, the consequence of failure is high, therefore National Highways wants to make sure that it does not allow the condition to deteriorate.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the most likely shaft collapse mechanism at HQU/3D, the Queensbury Tunnel.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
National Highways undertakes annual examinations of the Queensbury Tunnel and its associated ventilation shafts due to their age and condition. These examinations monitor any changes to the structure and inform ongoing safety assessments. Evidence from these examinations shows that the tunnel lining has already collapsed in two locations between Shafts 3 and 4, and further deterioration of the lining is likely. However, the current assessed risk of Shaft 4 collapsing remains low. Given that the consequences of any failure would be significant, the priority for National Highways is to prevent any decline in the asset’s condition.
The most likely collapse mechanism previously identified related to failure of the tunnel lining close to the base of Shaft 4 which is why National Highways has strengthened the tunnel lining in this area to mitigate the risk. Failure of the shaft cap lining due to age & wet conditions, or failure of the shaft cap are less likely and these are things National Highways checks for in tunnel and shaft examinations.
Shaft 4 itself has not been permanently strengthened. The interventions undertaken to date have focused on reinforcing the tunnel lining at its base. Shaft 4 is located within the town of Queensbury, in a residential area close to an electricity substation and although the risk of shaft 4 collapsing is currently low, the consequence of failure is high, therefore National Highways wants to make sure that it does not allow the condition to deteriorate.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk of ventilation shaft collapse at HQU/3D, the Queensbury Tunnel.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
National Highways undertakes annual examinations of the Queensbury Tunnel and its associated ventilation shafts due to their age and condition. These examinations monitor any changes to the structure and inform ongoing safety assessments. Evidence from these examinations shows that the tunnel lining has already collapsed in two locations between Shafts 3 and 4, and further deterioration of the lining is likely. However, the current assessed risk of Shaft 4 collapsing remains low. Given that the consequences of any failure would be significant, the priority for National Highways is to prevent any decline in the asset’s condition.
The most likely collapse mechanism previously identified related to failure of the tunnel lining close to the base of Shaft 4 which is why National Highways has strengthened the tunnel lining in this area to mitigate the risk. Failure of the shaft cap lining due to age & wet conditions, or failure of the shaft cap are less likely and these are things National Highways checks for in tunnel and shaft examinations.
Shaft 4 itself has not been permanently strengthened. The interventions undertaken to date have focused on reinforcing the tunnel lining at its base. Shaft 4 is located within the town of Queensbury, in a residential area close to an electricity substation and although the risk of shaft 4 collapsing is currently low, the consequence of failure is high, therefore National Highways wants to make sure that it does not allow the condition to deteriorate.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many tunnel ventilation shaft collapses on the UK’s railway network have been recorded.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Network Rail is responsible for maintaining most of the tunnels on Great Britain’s railways. It is not aware of any recorded instances of tunnel ventilation shaft collapses on the parts of the operational network it manages.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recommendations of the report of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety Locking out the Drink Driver, published March 2021; and what assessment they have made of the use of alcohol interlocks in other countries.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government has taken note of the research and the report published by the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety which was funded by a grant from the Department for Transport.
We are considering a range of policies under the new Road Safety Strategy; the first for ten years. This includes the case for changing the motoring offences, such as drink driving.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of search and rescue capacity in the English Channel; and what steps they are taking to strengthen life-saving provision.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
His Majesty's Government makes regular assessments of the adequacy of search and rescue capacity in the English Channel, in response to ever-changing operating patterns and the extremely high-risk appetite of the Organised Crime Networks that facilitate such crossings. In addition to the layered search and rescue response structure already in place, DfT, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), and the Home Office Border Security Command are investigating options to increase the rescue capacity of Government-contracted surface assets in the Channel, while the MCA and Border Security Command are advancing plans to enhance the future provision of aviation search assets.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact alcohol interlocks will have on improving road safety.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads.
We are considering a range of policies under the new Road Safety Strategy; the first for ten years. This includes the case for changing the motoring offences, such as drink driving. We intend to publish this by the end of the year.
In 2019 the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) was awarded a grant from the Department for Transport to undertake research into the feasibility of the using alcohol interlocks (“alcolocks”) as part of drink-drive offender rehabilitation programmes. This research examined alcohol interlock usage in other countries.